Bob Hoover

"...the greatest stick-and-rudder

man who ever lived. "
- Jimmy Doolittle

Bob Hoover, a famous test pilot and frequent performer at air shows, was returning to his home in Los
Angeles from an air show in San Diego. As described in the magazine Flight Operations, at three hundred
feet in the air, both engines suddenly stopped. By deft maneuvering he managed to land the plane, but it
was badly damaged although nobody was hurt.

Hoover's first act after the emergency landing was to inspect the airplane's fuel. Just as he suspected, the
World War II propeller plane he had been flying had been fueled with jet fuel rather than gasoline.

Upon returning to the airport, he asked to see the mechanic who had serviced his airplane. The young
man was sick with the agony of his mistake. Tears streamed down his face as Hoover approached. He
had just caused the loss of a very expensive plane and could have caused the loss of three lives as well.
You can imagine Hoover's anger. One could anticipate the tongue-lashing that this proud and precise pilot
would unleash for that carelessness. But Hoover didn't scold the mechanic; he didn't even criticize him.
Instead, he put his big arm around the man's shoulder and said, "To show you I'm sure that you'll never do
this again, I want you to service my F-51 tomorrow."
Excerpt from Dale Carnegie’s Book – How to Win Friends & Influence People